


It's just Exhaustion, I Swear

by Faleep



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Blue needs hugs Stretch needs help, Blue works like three different jobs just to support himself and Stretch, M/M, Magical Exhaustion, Mental Illness, Mpreg, Sickness, Since people are now guessing it..., Stretch ain't doing so well on the surface, at least the first chapter and bits of the second, everythig after that is purely fictional, has been for the entire fic, it's sort of based after RL events, post-pacifist Underswap, tags will be updated as story progresses, this started out as a Drabble and then just grew legs and ran away, yes he very much so is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2018-10-24 07:25:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10736955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faleep/pseuds/Faleep
Summary: They're in the surface now, and with a boyfriend from another universe, Blue should be happy right? He should be enjoying life.Instead he's working three jobs just to pay for rent, bills, food, and to keep his brother from falling down. He's overworked, underpaid, exhausted, and then life decides to really fuck him over.Shit's gonna go downhill man.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The_Useless_Cucumber](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Useless_Cucumber/gifts).



> Soooooo  
> This is veeeeery minorly based after real life events that happened to me. Chapter 1 and bits of chapter 2 are based after those events, everything after that I just made up. -shrugs-

Blue groaned as he curled up closer to the toilet. Another wave of nausea passed through him and he dry heaved, but nothing actually left him as he had already voided all his excess magic during the last few bouts of nausea.

After the feeling passed, he groaned again, resting his forehead on the edge of the toilet bowl. He hated being sick, to the point where he would ignore any and all signs of him being sick. Being sick meant staying at home lazing around; it meant taking a day (or more) off of work, which was something Blue absolutely could not do. They were on the surface now, they had been for the last three years, and unlike in the underground, they actually had to pay a rent fee as well as water, electricity, cable, sewage, and a few other lesser important ones. Back in the underground the rent was pay as you could, and all the other things were basically free with the house, courtesy of taxpayer money. So one only really had to buy food and pay the taxes, and even those were pay what you could. Most of the taxes were paid by the rich monsters, who were always generous enough to give over half their pay checks away so those less fortunate could have housing and food and water and such.

Sadly, that was not the case on the surface, and for many monsters it was extremely stressful. Blue was one of those monsters, he had picked up not one, not two, but three different jobs just to support him and his brother in their tiny little two bedroom apartment. Stretch was of no help in paying the bills, his mental health had declined since they got to the surface. He rarely came out of his room most days, and when he did he looked absolutely awful. Deep bags under his eyes, hoodie in complete disarray, and his bones were an off grey color (similar to the same shade as Blue’s bones currently). Blue desperately wished he could help his younger brother, but he wasn’t home often enough to help.

Between the three jobs he was working, Blue rarely got any time off and had even less time home. His day off at one job meant he could pick up more hours at the other two, and, should he get extremely “lucky” and get a day where all three jobs scheduled him off, he’d probably be out running errands for various local monster groups, or even the embassy. He should have known it was only a matter of time before he worked himself into sickness.

Blue sighed, he knew that he should probably call in sick from work today. Two of his jobs worked with food and food preparation, and they had strict policies about illnesses. He could try to argue that those policies were made for humans and not monsters, but he knew in the back of his mind that illnesses worked the same, regardless of the species.

Blue reached for his phone, which was laying on the ground nearby, and quickly turned it on. He was still using the same phone from the underground, he had no money to buy a new one plus he has learned, after his first trip the the phone store, that the modern “smart phones” didn’t register the touch of a skeleton finger. So he had Undyne modify his old phone a bit, so he could use it on the surface.

Blue fumbled with his phone for a bit, dorking around and trying to delay what he knew he should do. Eventually though, he gave a sigh, and pulled up his boyfriend’s multiverse number. A few years prior to reaching the surface Blue and his brother had been introduced to the expansive multiverse when an edgy little skeleton fell into their universe. He had introduced himself as Red, and had explained what happened (it also had become clear that it had not been Red’s first time getting accidentally shuttled across universes). It only took them a few weeks to get their machine up and running, and got Red back home. It had only taken those few weeks for Blue to develop a crush on Red.

It had taken them awhile to get together, but eventually they had and they were both very happy. Blue knew that if anyone could convince him to stay home and take a sick day, it would be Red. So, he pulled up Red’s number and went to shoot him a text. Blue fumbled with his phone again, as yet another wave of nausea went through him, causing his entire body to shake and rattle. The shaking continued even after the nausea passed, and Blue decided that it would be better to just call Red. He was in no shape to text, and he also just wanted to hear his boyfriend’s voice.

It took just a few buttons to call Red, and Blue waited impatiently as the phone rang. Time seemed to stretch on endlessly as he waited, only for the phone to go to Red’s voicemail. Blue groaned, and swiftly hung up just to retail again. This time, on the very last ring, the phone clicked and Blue heard a groggy, but still gruff and high pitched voice answer, “WHO THE FUCK IS THIS?”

“H-hey, I-is Red there?” Blue squeaked softly through the phone.

There was a pause of silence, before the voice, which Blue guessed to be Edge, answered, “YES. HE’S SLEEPING THOUGH, DO YOU WISH FOR ME TO WAKE HIM?”

“Y-yes p-please."

“ALRIGHT. JUST A MOMENT.”

Blue listened closely as he heard loud footsteps through the phone, followed by the sound of a door breaking and then yelling, “RED GET YOUR ASS UP, YOUR BOYFRIEND IS ON THE PHONE.”

Blue heard some muffled swearing, followed by a loud Thump, more muffled, but louder, swearing and then a groggy, “blue, the fuck? why are you calling me at three am in the morning?”

Blue blinked for a moment, before pulling his phone away from his head so he could look at it. It was 6:30 in the morning, which indeed meant that it was 3am for Red since, for some odd reason, his universe ran three hours behind everyone else’s (Swapfell was the same way, as well as any other Fell universe).

Blue returned his phone to the side of of his head, “i’m sorry, i’m sorry.” He apologized, before continuing, “but I need you to convince me not to do a stupid.”

“don’t do a stupid.” Red said bluntly, “what’s the stupid anyways?”

“I’m not feeling that great but I have work today and-”

“i’m gonna stop ya there. don’t do what i think you’re gonna do. you’re gonna stay home today. after ya hang up with me, call your work, and then go back to sleep.”

“But-”

“no buts blue! i know ya work with food, and i know their policies! you’re not supposed to work if you’re sick!”

“But-”

There was an aggravated sigh over the phone, “ya know what, you’re not gonna listen to me. Boss!”

Blue flinched slightly as he heard Red call for his brother. There was a moment of silence as the phone was handed over before Edge’s shrill voice came over the speaker, “BLUE YOU ARE GOING TO STAY HOME TODAY. YOU KNOW I WORK IN FOOD SERVICE TOO, I KNOW THEIR POLICIES BETTER THAN MY BROTHER. YOU’RE GOING TO STAY HOME, IF NOT FOR MY BROTHER THEN DO IT FOR THE CUSTOMERS. YOU DON’T WANT TO GET THEM SICK DO YOU?”

“Well, no… But…”

“NO BUTS BLUE. THINK OF THE CHILDREN, YOU WOULDN’T WANT TO GET THEM SICK, WOULD YOU?”

Blue winced, he hated it when Edge or Red pulled the children card on him. Blue would do anything for the little ones, they made working three different jobs enjoyable. Getting to see happy kids was always the highlight of his day, “o-okay. I’ll stay home then.”

“PROMISE?”

“Yeah.”

“SAY IT ALOUD BLUE. I’M GONNA PUT YOU ON SPEAKER SO BOTH ME AND RED CAN HEAR.”

“O-okay. I-I promise i’ll call in sick and stay home from work today.”

There was a beat of silence, before Red came back on over the phone, “alright babe, i believe you. now hang up, and call your work. then i want ya to go back to bed, me and boss will be over later today to take care of ya, okay?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry for waking you.”

“it’s not a problem babe, boss had been away anyways and he’ll be happy that i got up early. i love ya, i’ll see ya later.”

“Love you too.” Blue said, as he hung up the call. Just as he was about to put his phone aside, it gave a sharp trill and buzzed twice. He had gotten a text message, it was from one of his boss’s, asking if he could come into work a few hours early. They wanted him there in an hour or so.

Blue stared at his phone for a long minute, if he went in he’d be able to get overtime, and that particular company paid really good for their overtime hours, and he really did need the money… Blue hesitated for a moment, before sending a quick text back.

(Maybe Temmie was right. He really was and idiot.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter was originally gonna have more but then it grew too big and so I split it into two.  
> The next chapter is gonna be fun.
> 
> Sorry if Red seems a bit ooc in the text portion, I was literally taking texts sent to me by friend and partners and putting them into the story. The text blue sent is the exact same one I sent to my partners after I did the stupid.
> 
> Also, I've come up with an alt name for the story, I've been calling it Overworked!  
> Blue is really overworked.
> 
>  
> 
> I'm really overworked, sorry I've been horrible about posting things. ;-; my job is crazy, we've lost so many people and are working with a literal skeleton crew. I've been getting so many overtime hours and it's just exhausting. But I make good money and like the job, so it's worth it.

Red paced back and forth, impatient. It had only been four hours since Blue called him, and he was impatient to go visit his boyfriend. If Blue was sick enough to call him, then he was really sick. Red had noticed his boyfriend had a habit of pushing all personal things aside in order to better please and take care of others, and his personal health was one of the first things discarded. Blue had collapsed a few times in the past due to not taking care of himself and working himself to the brink. So it was only reasonable that Red was as worried as he was.

Red wished to jump right over to Swapverse immediately, however his brother was still in the process of making food for Blue, (as well as Stretch since both the Fell brothers doubted anyone was taking care of him, not with Blue working so much). So, while he waited, Red paced impatiently in circles around the living room.

Suddenly his phone buzzed from where he has set it on the living room table. The buzz was accompanied by a sweet, cherry jingle which was only assigned to one person. He had received a text from Blue. Red lunged towards his phone, snatching it up and quickly opening the message. By the time he had done so, he had received two more. Blue must have texted the group chat.

**Blue:** So I may or may not be doing a stupid.

**Comic:** ????

**Rus:** Blue, is everything okay?

Red stopped for a moment, as his mind put the pieces together. His facial expression ran from disbelief, to disappointment, to anger. He swiftly typed up a reply, hitting the one button on his keyboard that he had never actually hit before: the shift key.

**Red:** I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU WENT TO WORK. SO FUCKING HELP ME.

Red waited a few moments, but there was no reply. He growled, loud enough so his brother could hear from the kitchen, “boss! i’m going to swapverse!” Before he stomped out the door, slamming it hard enough to break one of the hinges. He stalked through the snow to their shed, quickly booting up the machine and jumping to Swapverse.

Getting to Swapverse was always the easy part of the trip. Just a few quick seconds and he walked out a different shed and into the bright sunlight of the surface. A vast difference from the gloomy underground he grew up in (stars, he couldn't wait until his kid got them to the surface, it was so much better up here). The hard part of the trip was getting to Blue’s house. Blue and Stretch lived in a tiny little two bedroom apartment in the heart of Ebott city, so their machine was housed in Honey’s (US!Undyne) and Armstrong’s (US!Alphys) shed. The two lesbians lived on the very edge of town, where Armstrong’s cooking explosions nor Honey’s scientific ones could bother very many people.

It would be a simple thing to just teleport to Blue’s house, however there were enough differences between the surfaces on the different universes that Teleporting was a dangerous thing. One really needed a good knowledge of the area in order to teleport safely, and all it takes is getting stuck in some random person’s wall in a different universe and being trapped there for five fucking hours to make him think twice about trying to just teleport to Blue’s house.

Red sighed, and walked from the shed to the front door of the extra reinforced house the two lesbians lived in. It was a large house, two stories plus a basement (which had been remodeled to become Honey’s personal lab), and all of it had been carefully and meticulously reinforced to be fireproof, explosion proof, shatter proof, and just generally unbreakable. Which was needed, Red had seen Armstrong completely rip a pine tree out of the ground and break it in two.

He knocked loudly on the front door and waited. He knew they were home, Honey’s old beat up truck and Armstrong’s mud splatter SuV were both in the driveway. Red knocked again, waited to the count of five, and then rung the doorbell. Again there was silence, so Red pushed the doorbell again. And again. And several more times after that, until he hear the sound of something exploding (or shattering, he couldn’t tell) followed by the loud stomping of feet.

Red had to teleport back a few feet as the door violently swung open, narrowing making it in time. In the doorframe stood Armstrong, who had a vaguely smoking apron on and a wild look in her eyes, “Alright you bastard! Who’s ringing my doorbell! Gah, don’t tell me it’s those brats from the next house over! If they think they can ding-dong-ditch me and get away with it, they have another thing coming to them!” She roared, stomping her feet.

Red made himself visible, “sup armstrong. wasn’t no kids, just me. was wondering if ya could take me over to blue’s.”

Armstrong calmed down quickly, but still gave him a long, hard stare. Finally she huffed, “Sure, let me tell my babe and grab my keys. You get to wait outside though.”

Red shrugged, he didn’t much care. He stood around as Armstrong retreated back into the house, idly counting the number of dents in the side of the house. After a few short moments Armstrong reappeared, keys in hand.

After unlocking the SuV, she jumped into the driver’s seat while Red jumped into the front passenger seat. Armstrong gave him a hard stare, “Nah, you have to ride in back. State laws say that anyone under 90lbs have to ride in the backseat, and don’t try to lie to me. I know what Blue weighs, and you’re even smaller than him.”

Red grumbled and climbed over the seat, making sure that he ‘accidentally’ kicked Armstrong in the arm, and got settled in the back seat. Armstrong turned around to look at him, “Normally i’d let you ride up here, but we gotta go through town and i’m just one offense away from getting my license revoked. Toriel and Gorey would be so upset with me if I lost it. They rely on me to drive the kid around.” She explained as she started up the van and pulled out of the driveway.

Red grumbled under his breath and crossed his arms, cursing the stupid surface weight restrictions under his breath. He did not enjoy sitting in the backseat like some child!

Armstrong chuckled at his response as she backed out of the driveway, “Hey, it could be worse Red. I could make you sit in a booster seat, Chara still has to sit in one of those. They’re skinny for an eight year old. You’re lucky I don’t have it today, Toriel and Gorey have it.”

Red just stared at her, “Oh hells nah, ya ain't puttin me in a booster seat.” He said in his most offended tone. 

Armstrong laughed, as she threw the car into drive and took off down the road. Red could immediately see why the humans wanted to revoke her license, the woman drove fucking insane. Armstrong paid zero attention to the speed limits, she swerved all over the road, ducking in between cars and squeezing through spaces that her SuV should not be able to fit through. Red clung to the door of the car, praying to every god he could think of. He now knew the reason why Honey was the one who normally drove him to and from Blue’s.

Armstrong did eventually slow down, when they got closer to the edge of the bustling monster city, aptly named ‘new new home.’ Most people just referred to it as Ebott city, in name of Ebott mountain. The city was a fair sized and was quite busy, the one in Taleverse was bigger and busier, but then again Taleverse had been on the surface for longer and had more time to expand their city.

While they were sitting at a red light, Armstrong turned around again, “So, i’m guessing you’re the reason why Blue canceled our cooking lesson? He told me he had the day off and so I invited him over, but he canceled a few days ago.”  
Red was confused by this statement, his brow bones furrowing, “he told ya he had the day off? that’s not what he told me earlier today when he called, he told me he had to work today.”

Armstrong glanced back at the road, inching up a little bit as the light ahead turned green. Only three cars got to pass before it flicked back to red though, and she turned back around, “What he call you about?”

“he said he wasn't feelin good and yet still had to go into work and wanted me and mah bro to convince him to stay home. which i highly doubt he did, if the text i got earlier is what i think it is.”

Armstrong glanced back at the road and inched up a little bit more, “well, we’re close to where he works so let’s swing by and check! If he’s there, we can grab his ass, explain to his boss what’s happening, and get him home and in bed! And then we can care for the little shit so when he gets better we can kick his ass for lying to us!”

Red nodded along, “yeah, that sounds like a good plan.”

Armstrong gave him a toothy grin, before turning back to the road, this time finally able to pass through the light. They drove on for about five more minuets, before Armstrong pulled into this small little parking lot next to a small restaurant. It was a small little Mexican restaurant, owned by a huge Mexican family. Many of the family members worked in the restaurant, and they had been one of the first places to hire monsters. They were friendly, the food was good, and the family stood up for monsters and refused service to anyone who mistreated the restaurant's monster employees. All in all it was a good place, and Red had been happy when he heard that Blue had gotten a job here.

Red and Armstrong walked through the front door of the restaurant, a little bell sound signaling their entrance. An old lady looked up from a front counter, a smiling gracing her weathered face as she greeted them, “¡Hola buen amigo!”

Armstrong smiled at the old lady, she and Honey had become regulars at the little restaurant ever since Blue got hired, and as such were welcomed as family, “hola grandma Amaya, is Blue here today?”

“No, mi Amiga, he’s not. Mi niño gave him the day off, he was not looking well.”

Armstrong and Red glanced at each other, Armstrong looked concerned while Red looked furious, “Thanks Amaya, if you see him tell him he needs to get his butt home.”

“Si, I will. You two have a good day.”

Armstrong nodded, waving at grandma Amaya as she and Red exited the little restaurant. Red waiting until they were back in the car before speaking, “he's not at work. for some reason, i highly doubt he'll be at home.”

Armstrong nodded, “I agree with you, but we still gotta check and, even if he's not home, it'll be easier to wait for him there than to traverse all across town looking for him.”

Red sighed, the lizard had a point. He didn't want to admit it, but she did. Red crossed his arms again, and leaned against the car door, watching the city scenery slowly pass by. Blue’s apartment wasn’t that far away from the restaurant, Blue didn’t have a car so he had to walk to work, or use the busses, but that can take forever.

That being said, it still took the two of them almost half an hour to drive the four blocks to Blue’s apartment. They ended up getting stuck at every. Single. Goddamned. Red. Light. Along the way, being stuck at a couple of them for several minutes longer than what should be necessary. When Armstronggot stopped at the last red light, she looked like she was just one more red light away from lifting up the van, and walking the rest of the way. Thankfully, that was the last one and just a few minutes later they were pulling up to the curb in front of Blue’s apartment.

It was a modest little thing, two bedrooms with one bath, and two stories as well. It was tiny widthwise, being squished in between seven others on the street, and even on the inside it’s tininess was felt. The long rooms and hallways and generally lack of open space made the place feel claustrophobic, but somehow Blue managed to work with that and created a homey space.

Red quickly darted up the stairs, pulling out the small blue key Blue had given him, and unlocked the door. He quickly threw it open and dashed inside, Armstrong just behind him, “blue, you home?”

“BLUE GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!” The two of them called out at the same time. There was silence for a few moments, before they heard a muffled ‘thump!’ From upstairs, followed by the sound of a door opened. The two of them held their breaths, before releasing them as groans when a disheveled Stretch appeared on the stairs.

Red eyed him, while Armstrong stalked over to the Papyrus. He looked worse then he had last time red had been over, the bags under his eyes were so deep and dark they almost looked like part of his eyes, his bones were so gray they looked like dust, his hoodie was frumpled and completely wrinkled and covered in stains, like he hadn’t washed it since swap got out of the underground (Red was pretty sure he hadn’t, but he doubted that Blue would just let his brother live in such a dirty sweater.)

Stretch stopped halfway down the stairs, staring at the two of them with blank eyes, “oh, it’s just the two of ya making noise.” He drawled slowly, as if it was hard to talk.

“Yo, Papyrus, where's your brother?” Armstrong called out to Stretch from where she was standing at the base of the stairs.

Stretch merely shrugged, “I dunno, I think he’s at work.”

“we checked, they gave him the day off.”

“Which job? I hardly doubt he got all three off.”

Red and Armstrong shared a look of shock, and slight bits of horror, “Th-three?” Armstrong sputtered.

"Last time I checked. He might have picked up another or two somewhere. He doesn’t really tell me these things, I just pick ‘em up when he’s chattering away making breakfast or somethin.” Stretch have another shrug, “dunno where at either. Only know of the Mexican place. Like I said, he doesn,t tell me much.” He drawled as he turned around and disappeared back upstairs.

Armstrong growled, and swung around to face Red, “You. Stay here, wait for Blue to come back. Call me when he gets here, if he gets here. I’m gonna go back to my wife and see if we can’t track down where the fuck the little shit has been working. I need answers, especially about why he lied to us.”

“ya got it.” Red said, taking a step back. Armstrong looked pissed, and he didn’t want to be close to her if she snapped.

“Gah! I can’t believe he actually got one over me! That little silver tongue shit, he knows better than to lie to me! I normally see right through them, i’ve been calling him out on this shit for years now, I can’t believe he would have the audacity to lie to me again! He knows I always find out eventually! I’m gonna kick his ass when I see him!” Armstrong ranted and ranged, stomping around the house before finally stomping out the door. She stopped on the front door step, turned around and grabbed Red, who had followed her and was preparing to shut the door. She yanked the front of his jacket, pulling him in close, “if he gets here before I find him, **call me.** He and I need to have a serious talk, again.” She growled directly into Red’s face, before dropping him. She then stalked down to her SuV, smashed into both the cars in front and behind her vehicle, and angrily drove away.

Red stood on the doorstep for a moment, a little shocked and a little frightened, before quickly stepping back into the apartment and locking the door shut behind him. A small part of his brain hoped that Blue got back here before Armstrong found him, he didn’t know if the lizard would be able to hold back against Blue, not with how pissed she was. And unlike most of the Sanses, Blue couldn’t teleport around to protect his one hp. That being said, Red knew that Blue was very good at dodging, and he could be one scary motherfucker when he really got into a fight.

Red sighed, and rubbed his face, as he moved over to the couch and got settled. This was going to be a long wait, and Blue didn’t even have a tv to pass the time with, though he did have a lot of puzzles, but Red would never touch those, if he got caught playing with puzzles his brother would never let him hear the end of it. Red flopped down on the couch, giving a big yawn and letting his eyes droop. If there was nothing else to do, he might as well nap. He could use a good nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of y'all want to correct me on my Spanish, please do. I took French in Hs and so I know nothing about Spanish. XD this is just what I threw together with the help of WordReference.


	3. The argument

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp. This chapter took forever to write. I'm bad at arguments naturally, my ADD means I get sidetracked in arguments reeeeally easily. Keeping on track with what I was arguing about is hard.
> 
> Anyways, Blue ain't exactly healthy mentally. He hide it tho, most can't figure out he's suffering too. He doesn't exactly have a healthy coping mechanism. Cookies if you can figure out what his coping mechanism is.  
> Double cookies if you can guess what I've hinting at in this chapter ;) it'll be explained in later chapters, so don't worry if you don't get it
> 
>  
> 
> Cucumber, you're not allowed to answer. You already know the answers, you helped me create them.

After a few hours of sitting around doing nothing, and a couple naps, Red finally heard the door unlock. A mere moment later Blue came stumbling in. Red jumped to his feet, “Where have ya been?!” Red exclaimed, rushing over to Blue, “Also, ya look like shit.

Blue waved him off, “I'm fine.” He said, as he stumbled past Red. Blue was literally swaying on his feet, like he was about to pass out at any second.

Red stepped back to survey Blue. His boyfriend looked like absolute shit, his bones were as gray, If not grayer than Stretch’s. He was shaking, his bones giving off a slight rattling sound, and he was making an odd wheezing noise when he breathed. His clothes were covered in dirt, grime, and other substances that Red did not want to know.

Blue toddled over to the lumpy green couch, flopping down onto it with little grace or care, “So, why are you here Red? Thought you were in Fellverse all day.”

“im here cause ya fuckin went to work even though yer sick! which job did ya even go to, me and armstrong stopped by the mexican restaurant, amaya said ya were given the day off. and yer brother then informs us that oh! ya have more than one job! armstrong is fuckin pissed by the way.”

Blue lazily waved Red off from the couch, “So what if I have more than one job. I’m handling it.”

“NO YA AINT!” Red exploded, stalking over to Blue and roughly grabbing the other, “ya look like fuckin shit, worse then yer brother! and that’s saying somethin! yer gray as fuck, yer rattling and wheezin, yer obviously sick as fuckin hell.”

Blue hissed and pulled his arm away, “I’m fine Red!”

“i’m fuckin callin bullshit! yer working yerself to death Blue! at this rate yer gonna be dust soon!”

“Well at least now i’m taking my death Into my own hands! I’d rather work myself to death than to get murdered by a genocidal demon with a fucking knife!” Blue snapped back, “At least this time i’m going to die by my own doing! And some good is coming out of it too! My brother is getting the help he needs, he’s got good food and good clothes and a good new bed! And he doesn’t have to work a single fucking minute, he doesn’t have to drag himself out to a shitty station to sit and stare at nothing for hours on fucking end! He doesn’t have to drag himself out there to fall asleep and have more fucking nightmares! He can stay safe at home, and focus on getting better! I’m taking care of my brother, just like I always have, and so who gives a flying fuck if I kill myself in the process! It’s better than dying to a genocidal demon at the end of that fucking golden hallway! It’s better than watching myself slowly crumble to dust!”

Red took a step back, shocked and scared by Blue’s outburst, “blue, darlin-”

“DON’T ‘DARLIN’ ME!” Blue shouted, “I need to work these jobs to support my brother! I need to work these jobs to make sure he's happy and safe and on the road to being healthy! I need to work these jobs in order to continue being the best big brother possible! I’m not going to take a sick day, i’m not going to quit any of them, i’m not going to stop. And if you can’t accept that then you can get out.”

“blue, listen to yerself. yer stressed and overworked, yer making irrational decisions.” Red said, taking a step forwards, “yer should get some sleep, we can have this conversation again in the morning when yer not stressed.” Red reached a hand out, to try and gently touch Blue’s shoulder.

Blue slapped his hand away, growling, “No! I don’t want to!”

Red growled, “yer actin like a child.”

“I don’t care! You’re being an asshole like normal!”

Red took a step back again, confused. He wasn’t being an asshole? If anything he was being nicer than normal. Normally, he’d just grab the other and tie them up for a few days, till they calmed down and saw reason. He’d had to do that to his brother a few times in the past, when Edge to do the same thing and overwork himself. But Red was trying to take a softer approach with Blue, and use words not violence.

Blue continued on, “you’re not going to stop me Red! I’m going to keep working, regardless of what you say! And if you can’t handle that then you can just leave! Leave this relationship, leave this house!”

“wait blue! i’m just tryin to help!”

“If you really wanted to help me, you’d let me work! You wouldn't try to stop me!”

“but-”

“NO BUTS! Just. Leave. Go back to Fellverse Red. This is over.” Blue angrily pointed to the door.

“wha?”

“Us! It’s over. Now get out of my house.” Blue growled, stepped forwards and roughly shoving Red towards the door. Despite being so sick, Blue still had a considerable strength to him and Red wasn’t prepared, so he ended up stumbling backwards towards the door.

Blue leaned past him and threw the door open, before shoving Red onto the doorstep, “we’re over Red. Don’t ever come back.” Blue hissed, before slamming the door on Red’s face.

Red stood on the doorstep for several moments, just trying to process what the fuck just happened. When he finally realized that Blue just dumped him, Red burst into silent tears. He turned around, and mindlessly wandered off of Blue’s doorstep, red tears streaming down his face. He mindlessly wandered down the sidewalk, his body instinctively taking him towards the lesbian’s house. He had walked back there from blue's house enough times to know the route by heart. He could probably do it drunk too.

On the way there, he passed by a small bar. It was the parlor this universe’s Grillby owned. Red stopped outside the door, noticing the place was basically empty. He felt like he could use a drink. Or twenty. Plus he now wanted to put to the test whether or not he could walk to Armstrong and Honey’s house drunk. Red pushed open the door, walked up to the counter and ordered the strongest drink he could get. He was going to try his damnedest to not remember this night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I ain't dead! This story ain’t dead!   
> I'm sorry for the long ass wait. ;-; I really have no excuse for it, other then the fact that I kind of forgot about this story??? Whoops.   
> Anyways, I meant to have this chapter finished by the end of January since one of my New Years resolutions is to try to update a story at least once a month, not counting the Drabble bin. Kind of failed that, but it just means y'all are gonna get a double update this month. I’ve already got a plan for the next chapter of this story too, so I’m gonna start working on it Immediately.  
> Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy this chapter, and I’m really sorry it’s been so fucking long ;-;

Blue groaned as he knelt over the toilet bowl again, waste magic floating in the water below. He flushed the toilet and leaned back, moving so he could lean against the wall across from the toilet. He brought his hand down to rest on his stomach…. well huh. That was weird, his ectobody was summoned. His magic had been acting weirdly lately. 

It had been a couple of months since his argument with Red, and he had to work extra in order to avoid both Armstrong and Edge, who kept coming over from Underfell. Presumably to yell at him for what he did to Red. According to Stretch, Red had gotten massively drunk the night of their argument and nearly got killed on the way home. 

Blue felt a little bad about that, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. Between his four jobs, as well as dodging Armstrong, the Cats, Edge, and anyone else who might be able to recognize him and who would know that the ex-captain is hunting for him. Which is quite a few people.

All the extra running around was throwing his magic out of whack. He felt constantly exhausted, but yet he couldn't sleep at night. Certain foods and smells made him hurl, and he had a bizarre craving for mustard of all things. Not to mention the mood swings and the constant sickness in the morning. And now his ectobody was summoned. His magic was really out of whack… maybe he should take a sick day?

No. he couldn't afford that. Not with rent increasing to over 1,500 dollars a month, as well as a jump in the price for Stretch’s medication. Plus a recent trip to the local clinic cause Stretch got his hands on a sharp object… Blue was drowning in bills. He was just barely making enough to pay them all and keep food on the table. 

Blue started mentally planning In his head the ways he could pick up extra hours. He’d have to go without sleep for several days, and skip a couple meals here and there, but he could do it.

Suddenly his alarm went off and he jerked, opening his eyes. When had he closed them?! He must have nodded off against the wall. Blue stood, swaying just a little as a dizzy spell washed over him, but it quickly passed. He grabbed his phone and turned it off, exiting the bathroom and heading down the hall to his room. 

He stopped by his brother’s room, peeking Inside and slightly panicking when he didn't see his brother's sleeping form on the messy bed. He then remembered that Stretch had been ‘kidnapped’ by Honey for the weekend, the two scientists were getting together with some of the others from alternate universes to do some sciency thing together. Blue let out of a sigh, his brother had been doing better in the past couple of months. Aside from that one incident, Stretch’s health had been improving, but the new meds he was on, plus the new therapist…. both were expensive. 

Blue moved on from Stretch’s room, farther down the hall to his room. He stopped at the entrance, another dizzy spell washing over him, forcing him to grab the door frame in order to not fall down. He really wasn't feeling good… but he pushed it to the side. He had work, he needed the money. 

Blue stumbled into his room, swaying just slightly as he moved over to his dresser. He pulled out a small notebook from the top drawer, flipping through the pages. It was in this that he kept extensive records of all the hours he worked from all his jobs. He flipped to the last page he wrote on, checking what he had to work today. No hours at the Mexican Restaurant again, but he knew that. They weren't going to let him come back until after he got a doctor's note saying he could work. He wasn't fired, yet, but he just wasn't getting any hours. 

It was a bit of a harsh blow, but he had used the new free hours to find yet another job. Blue’s eyes skimmed the crudely drawn chart, he had an 4 hour shift at the gas station on 5th street, an 8.5 hour shift at that horrible biker dive bar on 19th avenue, and a 4 hour shift at the little convenience store just down the street. Blue mentality groaned at the long shift at the dive bar, he hated that job. He was a cleaner, hired on the clean the dishes, floor, sinks, tables, **bathrooms**. Anything that needed cleaning. He was the only monster on staff, which was not unusual as all the anti-monster folks tended to gather in that bar. The only reason he took the job was because he was desperate, and they were offering a large amount of money per hour for a monster to come work there. Mostly to keep the city off their back, it looked good for the bar to have a monster employee. 

Blue sighed and shut the notebook, putting it back where he got it. He had 7.5 hours of free time, but more than likely he’ll be forced to stay over to clean something at the dive bar. At least they payed good overtime hours, over $25 an hour for overtime. And they never skipped on paying him surprisingly… though, maybe that was just because they didn't want him ratting them out to the police force about all the illegal activities he saw going on in the bar. As long as he kept his mouth shut, he got paid… even if it hurt to go against his morals and let these crimes go unpunished. 

But he had to give up something in order to keep his brother alive and safe, with fresh clothing and decent food and good medicine and a roof over his head. Blue figured that as long as he wasn't participating in the crimes… it wasn't so bad if he just turned a blind eye right? It wasn't anything serious either, Just some drugs, prostitution, trafficking illegal animals, unsanitary conditions, not all that bad… 

Blue sighed. He hated this. But there was nothing he could do, if he turned the bar in for all the crimes he saw, he would be out of another job and would be losing a huge paycheck every week. One he could not afford to lose. 

Blue sighed, and pulled his work clothes out of his dresser. He donned the ones for his gas station shift, and packed the rest away in the backpack on the floor. He also kept some spare cash in a hidden pocket of the bag, as well as a small taser. Better to be safe than sorry with his magic acting weirdly, and not to mention using magic on a human was very bad. But it was okay to use human weapons on a human. 

Blue grabbed the bag as he left his room, making his way down the long hallway, Then down the stairs. He turned at the base of the stairs, going into the kitchen. He couldn't afford to buy food today, he’ll have to pack something from home and hope it doesn't get stolen. Blue opened up his fridge… and was faced with a whole lot of nothing. It was empty. Blue stared at it, unblinking, before remembering that yesterday was supposed to be grocery day! 

“Shit!” Blue swore, shutting the fridge door, he forgot to do shopping in his exhaustion. They were out of food. Maybe he could text Honey and convince her to keep Stretch for a few extra days. Blue couldn't let his brother see their food situation. He already knew that his brother knew at least a little bit that they were in trouble, but he couldn't let his brother know how bad it really was. 

Blue groaned into his hands, guess today was a day he’d have to go hungry. Or maybe he could swipe some food from the dive bar. The greasy food didn't sound that bad, in fact thinking about it now he was kind of craving a greasy hamburger, smothered in mustard… holy stars he was starting to sound like Red! 

Blue sighed, he knew the job wouldn't care if he took some food, heck one of the cooks might make him some if he asked, but he really didn't want to eat the food that had been exposed to who knows what. It probably had drugs in it, or at least some sort of animal contamination from the illegal animals moved through the back room. Though he really shouldn't complain, food was food and it was hard to get any right now, he was so low on spare cash. 

Blue grabbed his backpack and headed out, making sure to lock the front door. He checked his phone, he has an hour to make it over to 5th street. It wasn't that far, 15 minuets by bus, provided he didn't have to wait, or 30-45 minutes by foot depending on which route he took. Blue opted to go by foot, it was safer than taking the bus. He needed to stay away from Armstrong and Edge, he knew both were pissed at him and right now he didn't want to deal with that. 

Blue took off at a steady pace away from his apartment, cutting into the nearest alleyway. His normal route was a little… interesting. It went through several dead end alleyways, or at least they were supposed to be dead ends. But the chain link fences were easy to scale, and the one brick wall he faced was easy if one just jumped off the trash can next to it. Here lately that jump had been giving him trouble, but he could still haul himself over the wall. 

Blue dropped to the ground on the other side of the brick wall, slumping against it as he tried to catch his breath. It was getting harder to do this, he was out of breath already. It wasn't like he was out of shape, he worked out whenever he could, and he had already been fit from all his training in the underground. Usually he could do this route no problem and without even breaking a sweat. But here in the last few months it was getting harder for him to even run a block without being out of breath.  
There must be something seriously wrong with him. His mind was trying to connect the dots with what his symptoms were as well as a few other random strange things he had started to do over the past few months… but he shrugged the thoughts away as he pushed up from the wall. He didn't have time to dwell on thoughts of illnesses or stuff like that. Those thoughts didn't pay the bills.

Blue exited the alleyway and headed down the street. After weaving his way through a couple open alleys and down a few more streets, he finally arrived at the little Shell gas station on 5th street. He had made it, and a quick check of his phone told him he was able half an hour early.

Not that it mattered, for his boss Harry spotted him as soon as he entered the store, “Blue! Praise Helix you’re here! Jhonny called off again and so I've been stuck here over two hours and I gotta go! I've already set it up so you can just clock on. Anyways, I got as much done as I could but cold pop needs to be stocked, the bathrooms gotta be mopped, and pump one is down. Again. Nearly had a dude take my head off over it. Anyways, i owe you one, i gotta go! Cya!” His boss said in a rush, grabbing his jacket and rushing out the door. 

Blue stared at Harry’s retreating figure, before releasing a loud groan Into the empty store. Whelp, this was gonna be a long shift, even if it was just four hours…. provided Harry remembered to call his coworker Chelly to come and relieve him. If his boss didn't, Blue would be stuck in the station until Chelly came in. 

Blue sighed as he swiped his badge through the time clock machine. At least this meant more money for him, and knowing Harry, his boss will repay him with a meal, or at least allow him to snag some food that they had to pull off the shelves. 

Blue looked around the empty store, and with one final sigh, he got to work.

He was so tired.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s 6am but I finally got this chapter out, but only after scrapping the previous one I had. It’s okay. I like this one better. Gives some small insights on how blue thinks. On what really keeps him going. As well as a few other things.

Blue dragged his feet up the steps to his apartment. Twenty and a half hours of work. He was right in his guess that the dive bar would ask him to stay longer, they kept him an extra four hours. Well, at least that would give him some extra money on his next paycheck. Maybe he'll actually have enough to go visit the local clinic, to find out - wait. Groceries. Shit. 

Blue leans tiredly against his front door, taking a moment to do the mental calculations, he needed groceries for the next few weeks. With his brother on new meds, his brother's appetite has slowly returned. He's eating more now, and Blue has been encouraging eating more. Starving yourself is bad… Blue knows that from experience. Heh, how hypocritical of him.

Blue sighs, knowing that the little bit he has left over in his bank account will go to buying enough groceries till payday next week. This week's paycheck will be for last week's work, and next week's paycheck will be for this week. He’ll have to spend the overtime pay he earned today on groceries instead of himself. But that's okay. Anything for his brother. 

Blue pushed himself off the door, it was four am, but he knew that the local supermarket was still open. It was a 24 hour one afterall. He dragged himself slowly off his doorstep, wearily staggering down the street. It was just five blocks, plus crossing the parking lot. He could make it. He did that trip weakly at all hours of the day and night.

Blue swayed on his feet, reaching out the grasp the lamppost to steady himself. He took a deep breath and took a step forwards. He can do this. For his brother. He needed food, for his brother. Maybe if he budgeted his shopping right, he could pick up some honey or maybe a magazine for his brother. Maybe he might even find some sort of clearance puzzle. His brother did love puzzles, blue could remember back when his pappy was young, so carefree and bright. He would always draw up these great puzzles for his older bro to create. 

Blue smiled at the memory as he reached the first light. He waited for the walk sign to turn green before crossing, he could see the supermarket down at the end of the street. Just four blocks to go. For his brother.

He thought the type of he’d get for his brother, maybe one of those maze books? Or maybe a word search… scratch that. No worse search. Nothing that could strain his brother's eyesight. They didn't have enough money for glasses. Maybe he’d try to find one of those physics puzzles? Yes, that sounded like a great idea. While Blue could solve those things in seconds if he really sat down and tried, he knew pappy took a bit of time to fully grasp them, but he was always so happy when he finally solved them. 

Blue would do anything to make his brother happy. He stopped at the next light, just three blocks to go. The next three blocks were all a bit dark, before you hit the lights of the parking lot. Blue sighed, and let his eyelights settle into their natural state. His left eye shone brightly, overflowing with magic, while his right was ominously dark and empty. It was a little known secret that he was blind in that eye, due to an accident long ago when he was a mere child. His left eye got the full brunt of the magic that was supposed to be split between both sockets, thus causing the magic to overflow in an actually pretty cool display. It looked like his eye was on fire. In the proper lighting it was downright terrifying.

Blue used this to his advantage now. Though he had learned many years ago how to consciously change the flow of his magic so both eyes could have eyelights in them (though his right remained blind, the eyelight was all for show), there were a few times where he purposely let the true nature of his eyes show. Usually it was when he needed to look terrifying, usually for one of three reasons. He needed to scare off a suspicious customer, or he needed to walk down a dark street without getting bothered or… 

or he needed to terrify a small human child into finally giving up. 

Blue shook his head to shake his mind off that path, those were dark thoughts. Not good to think about. Do not think about those timelines. Do not think about the dust or the love or those cold, murderous brown eyes. He groaned softly and Leaned up against a building, his eyes drifting closed. He jerked himself awake not even a second, despite how tired he was he had to stay awake. He had to. For his brother.

Blue glanced around, even though this was a better part of town it still was better to be safe. There was one vehicle, a truck, parked down the street behind him. He couldn't remember if it had been there before or not. He decided to not ponder on that and to scurry forwards, pushing his weary and exhausted body past its limits. Everything felt sore and he felt dizzy and sick… but he's made it across the final street and into the parking lot. It was nicely lit. He let himself relax a little as he focused on his goal; getting food for his brother. He can do this. For pappy.

The attack caught him by surprise. He barely had time to shout before something was in his mouth and hands were grabbing him. There was a sharp pain in his neck, he knew immediately that it was a needle, and he knew immediately that it held a sedative. He fought as hard as he could against the hands and the drugs but his already weakened and exhausted body quickly went down. He slumped against his attackers, struggling to stay conscious as sleep dragged at his soul. He managed to make out just a few snippets of conversation before he went down;

“do we have to do it this roughly?”

“YES. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY. NOW GET HIM INTO THE TRUCK.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heh

**Author's Note:**

> *whispers*  
> I'm a fucking idiot who should have listened to my Gf and fucking staid home, but nope. I went into work anyways.  
> ;-;  
> I'm sorry Hun, I did mean to stay home. I really did.


End file.
